Beaver Lake bass tourney to benefit Children’s Miracle Network
April 29 NW Arkansas Charity Bass Fishing Tournament sponsored by Sam’s Club, conducted by FLW Outdoors
The NW Arkansas Charity Bass Fishing Tournament to benefit Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) will take place April 29 at Prairie Creek on Beaver Lake. CMN created this event to help kids while doing something the community enjoys at the same time.
Sam’s Club comes together with other businesses and individuals as sponsors to make this a spectacular event in northwestern Arkansas. FLW Outdoors will conduct the charity tournament (due to scheduling issues, this year’s charity event will not coincide with the FLW Tour event on Beaver Lake, but likely will again in the future).
General information
• “Buddy” format and each boat will pay an $80 fee to fish
• Register at Rogers Outdoor Sports in Rogers, Ark., anytime or at Prairie Creek the day of the event
• First Place: $3000, 2nd Place: $1500 and 3rd Place: $500 all guaranteed. Many more prizes will also be awarded.•
• Rogers Outdoor Sports will hold a “sign-up” event Thursday, April 28, starting at 5 p.m.
• FLW is conducting the weigh-in, and CMN will award donated prizes that will be announced at a later date
• “Fish with a pro” opportunities will be granted based on sponsorship levels
• Arkansas Game and Fish and FLW’s fishing rules apply (see below for more information)
Flight times, check-in times
• 1st flight 6:30 a.m. with a check-in time of 2:30 p.m.
• 2nd through 7th flights launch every 10 minutes after 6:30 a.m.
• 8th flight 7:40 a.m. with a check-in time of 3:40 p.m.
Sponsorship levels
• Platinum: $ 5,000 – 10 entries to fish, large logo on t-shirt/banner, fish with a pro*
• Gold: $ 3,000 – 7 entries to fish, small logo on t-shirt/banner
• Silver: $ 1,000 – 3 entries to fish, company name on t-shirt/banner
• Bronze: $500 – 1 entry to fish, company name on banner
Should your organization wish to help by sponsoring this event, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and you will be contacted to coordinate that sponsorship.
Official rules
a) All Local, State, & Federal penal code laws shall apply at all times.
b) All Local, State, Coast Guard, & Federal boating regulations shall apply at all times.
c) Contestants must have a valid state issued fishing license on their person unless exempt. Each contestant must also have a valid state driver’s license, or some form of secondary picture identification recognized by state or federal agencies.
d) Each person in a boat must be a paid contestant of the tournament and abide by all tournament rules and regulations.
e) Non-contestants are not allowed in paid contestants’ boats at any time during official tournament hours.
f) All bass caught by contestants fishing together will be disqualified if any of the said contestants are found to be in violation of any tournament rules or regulations.
g) Any contestants found to be in violation of any tournament rules and regulations will be subject to disqualification from the tournament and all future events.
h) Tournament Officials reserve the right to refuse any entry.
i) Participants under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or adult with written parental permission.
Registration and entry fee
a) Entry Fee must be paid before fishing.
b) No refund or substitution of entry fee for any reason
c) No Entry Fee will be collected after 6:30 am the day of the event.
Alcoholic beverages, firearms, medications
a) During tournament hours no alcoholic beverages are to be consumed by tournament contestant or allowed in contestant’s boat until the tournament is over.
b) No firearms allowed in boats during tournament hours.
c) Driver of the boat and tow vehicle are not to be under the influence of medications that may impair vehicle operation as indicated by State laws.
Safety (the following is mandatory)
a) All boats must be equipped with some type of emergency ignition cut-off device (kill switch) on any remote steered outboard while main engine is in use. Ignition cut-off device (kill switch) must operate properly, which means when the kill switch is activated the outboard main engine must stop running immediately. The ignition cut-off device (kill switch) must be attached to boat operator at all times while outboard main engine is in use. However, kill switches are not required on boats or hand-operated engines that were not manufactured with one.
b) U.S. Coast Guard approved life jackets are required for each person on board. Life jackets must be worn and fastened while outboard main engine is in use.
c) No boat shall have a motor of higher horsepower than the approved Coast Guard maximum.
d) Anyone taking medications should notify tournament officials prior to fishing.
Permitted fishing areas and hours
a) Fish must be caught on the tournament lake during official tournament hours.
b) Tournament off limits begins at 6:00pm on the day prior to the tournament event. Anglers must be off the water on or before 6:00pm Thursday, April 28th, 2011, and may not begin fishing until official tournament start time on Friday.
c) Official start time will be determined by your assigned flight information.
d) No fishing within 50 yards of marina gas pumps or posted no fishing signs.
e) No one may leave his/her boat to fish or land a fish.
f) Contestants are limited to use of a primary boat only. No canoes, rafts, or flotation apparatuses.
g) No fishing allowed within 25 yards of a non-anchored boat or 50 yards from an anchored boat without that boat’s permission.
h) First Check-in time will be at 2:30 pm on April 29th, 2011. All boats are required to be within the buoys of Prairie Creek Marina, and in line at the check boat by their official check-in time. No casting, fishing, culling, or more than 5 fish in a boat will be permitted after your official check in time.
Flight times and check-in times
• 1st Flight 6:30am, Check in time 2:30pm
• 2nd Flight 6:40am, Check in time 2:40pm
• 3rd Flight 6:50 am, Check in time 2:50 pm
• 4th Flight 7:00 am, Check in time 3:00 pm
• 5th Flight 7:10 am, Check in time 3:10 pm
• 6th Flight 7:20 am, Check in time 3:20 pm
• 7th Flight 7:30 am, Check in time 3:30 pm
• 8th Flight 7:40 am, Check in time 3:40 pm
Tackle and equipment
a) All bass must be caught on artificial bait by casting only. No trolling with big motor. Only one rod may be used at any one time by contestant. Other rods may be in the boat for substitute purposes.
b) All bass must be caught from a legal motorized boat.
c) No electronic tracking devices (implanted microchips) may be used to locate fish for tournament purposes (depth finders, side imaging, and graph charts are the only exception.)
Check-in
a) All boats are required to turn in numbers at the designated check-in boat located within the Prairie Creek Marina buoys. Failure to turn in boat numbers at the official checkpoint will result in late penalties being imposed.
Late penalty
a) Contestants who are not in the official check-in area at the appointed time shall be penalized at the rate of 1 pound per minute to be deducted from the total weight of his/her catch, including any weight to be counted toward a “Big Bass”.
b) Any contestant more than 15 minutes late for check-in will be disqualified from the tournament.
c) After contestants have been properly recognized and have turned in their boat number to the designated check-in boat, they will be allowed ample time to proceed to the weigh-in site; however, all fishing must cease upon check-in.
d) There shall be no excuse for tardiness, and in no case shall a contestant be allowed to make up “lost time”.
Weigh-in, sportsmanship and conservation
a) Sportsmanship, courtesy, safety, and bass conservation are required from every participant.
b) All bass weighed in will become the property of the tournament and will be released back into the lake alive if possible.
c) Transporting bass to the weigh-in site during tournament hours will not be permissible.
d) For conservation reasons, all bass brought to official weigh-in station must be in a weigh-in bag with water to help support the fish until being released.
e) No contestant boat may weigh in more than 5 bass for the tournament.
f) Culling inside Prairie Creek marina buoys shall be reason for immediate disqualification.
g) Any artificially weighted or preserved bass will be disqualified and the contestant will be subject to prosecution under federal law.
h) Any questionable fish will be subject to inspection by Tournament Officials.
i) Only Largemouth, Smallmouth 15 inches in length, Meanmouth, and Kentucky spotted bass 12 inches in length will be eligible for weigh-in. It is the responsibility of the entrant to abide by all local, state, and federal rules for the host event.
j) No contestant may have more than 5 fish in their possession/live well once official tournament weigh-in time has started. This is a mandatory catch and release program during official tournament hours. All bass when tournament is officially over must be released back into the water.
k) For conservation purposes, an 8 oz penalty (1/2 lb) will be accessed for each dead fish brought to scales. This penalty will be deducted from the dead fish, and will apply to big bass weight if dead fish is contestant’s “Big Bass”.
l) Short fish brought to the scales will disqualify the entire catch and team.
m) Winners will be determined based on final total weight.
n) “Big Bass” weight will be used to break any tie.
Boat inspection
a) All contestants, by entering this tournament, hereby agree to allow their boats to be boarded and inspected by tournament officials at any time during the tournament, to included, but not limited to, their boat registration, Coast Guard horsepower rating plate, live well, rod boxes, closed storage compartments, tackle boxes, life jackets, PFD’s, and safety equipment.
Decisions
a) All decisions of the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) NW Arkansas Charity Bass Fishing Tournament, its Tournament Directors, and staff are final.
b) All protests must be registered in writing with the Tournament Director within fifteen (15) minutes of the contestants weigh-in.